Tesla boosts power, range and prices for Model S, Model X

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk talks about the large air filter of the new Model X SUV crossover in its debut from the floor of its plant in Fremont, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

A Tesla Model S P90D, left, and Tesla Model S 90D are on display at the new Tesla store in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)

The added power is an expensive blink of an eye — the electric vehicle maker is charging as much as $20,000 for an upgrade that bolts the Model S one-third of second faster from zero to 60 mph than earlier models.

The P100D upgrades come with larger battery packs, increasing range as well as acceleration. The company boasts that the P100D Model S the fastest production car in the world. It’s also the first electric vehicle to push a range to 315 miles on a single charge.

The added power comes at a cost: the new Model S start at $134,500 and the Model X begins at $135,500. Certain customers waiting for new Teslas can add the package for $10,000. Existing P90D Model S customers would need to recycle their battery pack and replace it for $20,000.

The company noted in a statement that the new vehicles are obviously expensive but “that every sale helps pay for the smaller and much more affordable Tesla Model 3 that is in development.”

Louis Hansen covers Tesla and renewable energy for the Bay Area News Group and is based at The Mercury News. He's won national awards for his investigations and feature stories. Prior to joining the organization, he was an enterprise reporter at The Virginian-Pilot, where he covered state government, the military and criminal justice.